


Last Hope

by orangeink



Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: But he's not done yet, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Gen, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Captain Marvel (2019), Steve is struggling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-16 18:18:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18696763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orangeink/pseuds/orangeink
Summary: “Where’s Fury?”The question is asked by a woman with blonde hair and burning brown eyes who had definitely not been standing in the doorway a moment ago. The only reason Steve doesn’t attack her on principle for appearing out of nowhere when the last Avengers standing are already on edge is because the uniform she’s wearing looks an awful lot like the color scheme and symbol that had been glowing on Fury’s pager before it shut off.





	Last Hope

**Author's Note:**

> Speculation on how their initial meeting could have gone. Enjoy!

“Where’s Fury?”

The question is asked by a woman with blonde hair and burning brown eyes who had definitely not been standing in the doorway a moment ago. The only reason Steve doesn’t attack her on principle for appearing out of nowhere when the last Avengers standing are already on edge is because the uniform she’s wearing looks an awful lot like the color scheme and symbol that had been glowing on Fury’s pager before it shut off.

Steve doesn’t attack her because he knows, deep down, that this woman was the one Fury turned to when he was literally turning to ash. She was his last hope, and Steve knows that Fury wouldn’t have chosen her without a reason.

Steve doesn’t attack her because he knows she’s their last hope, too. And it wouldn’t do to get off on the wrong foot. He’s done enough of that already. And there’s an ache in him that sharpens when he doesn’t hear Tony pipe up with something snarky, when he doesn’t hear Thor’s booming voice. It’s too quiet. They’re probably dead.

But he’s not dead, not yet. And this woman standing before him gives him one last spark, one last flare of hope. He latches on to it like a leech, like a soldier digging deep for one last suicidal run.

“Fury’s gone,” Steve tells her. “But we’re going to get him back. We’re going to get everyone back.”

Her eyes turn to him. It might be his imagination, might be the lack of sleep getting to him (he hasn’t slept more than an hour at a time since Bucky crumbled to dust in front of him), but he thinks he sees fire flowing under her skin.

“Who are you?” she asks.

“We’re the Avengers,” Steve says. For some reason, her lips quirk at that.

“Captain Marvel,” she says. She holds out a hand. “Call me Carol.”

He takes her hand. She almost crushes it in her grip. Steve smiles for the first time in days. “Welcome to the team.”

She lets him go and turns to the others. There is urgency in her eyes, but nothing defeated in her posture. Her spine is straight, her shoulders back. Her voice is clear and firm as she introduces herself to the rest of what is left of Steve’s team. There is a certain kind of energy to her that injects new life into the entire room.

Steve knows she’s their last hope. And he’s starting to think Fury knew what he was doing in his dying moments.

Steve is going to make sure Fury didn’t die in vain. Steve is going to make sure Fury doesn’t die at all.

(At the very least, Steve is going to avenge him. Steve is going to avenge all of them. And with Carol’s help, that might even be possible.)

Steve turns to his team, who are quiet and watching him with eyes a shade brighter than they have been since Thanos defeated them.

“Let’s get to it.”

**Author's Note:**

> I threw this together after watching Captain Marvel a couple weeks ago. I saw Endgame last week and decided to post this to make up for some of the distinct lack of introduction time between Captain Marvel and the Avengers.
> 
> Also, as you might have realized from the vibe of this fic, I did not expect Steve to survive the Endgame.


End file.
